Conflict between Individuals will and Institution's force; The cusp of Dionysiac impulse and apollonian rationality in claire keegan's small Things like these

Abstract

This paper explores the individual’s will and institutional force in Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These in the light of Friedrich Nietzsche’s humanistic perspective. The research aims to illuminate the dissimulation of human moral values, investigating the meeting point of Dionysiac Impulse and Apollonian Rationality. For convenience, the study sheds light on the protagonist, Bill Furlong’s aspiration for moral action as ‘Individual’s will’ and the act of the convent (Church) and Madam Superior, collectively, would be the vantage point to inspect the ‘Institution’s Force.’ In so doing, the study, equating Furlong and the convent with Dionysiac and Apollonian morale, unravels the power of individual wills in constructing social harmony and perpetuating the moral grammar of human society. The research embodies Friedrich Nietzsche’s notion of “individual will to power” and “dissimulation”for theoretical analysis of the primary text. Thus, the research discloses that when individuals absorb themselves in the suffering of others, they attain the highest form of freedom and liberty, which ultimately guides society to a moral destiny—benefiting society with moral dignity and delinking immorality. However, in doing so, the institutional forces are the major hindrances, which with their illusive assertion constantly derail an individual from his moral stand. Keywords: Dissimulation, Religion, God, Morality and Ethics Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These (2021), the Booker Prize shortlisted